Village Bonds
by lissibear
Summary: Naruto, Hinata, Neji, Shino and Ayame have left Konoha in order to stop Madara from resurrecting the Uchiha clan and destroying Konoha, will they succeed? Sequel to Young Hearts.
1. Chapter 1

Gaara's dark and menacing blue eyes stared out of his office window at the black clouds rolling in across the clear night sky. Curious, he stood up allowing his pen to drop noisily to his desk as he walked toward the open glass. The wind brushed his pale face and rustled his messy auburn hair. Gaara looked at the night sky with a knowing gaze, his hands clasped behind his back.

"I know you're out there." He whispered. "What do you want?"

-----------------------------------------

Hinata sat next to the warm fire, absently watching the small fishes roasting over the open flame. If she looked indirectly at the hot flames, they would blur together and she could see the hint of a face, but the moment she tried to make out the details, the image would vanish and all she could see were bright orange flames once more. She passed the time this way for several minutes, trying to make out different shapes and images within the burning embers and fiery wood. It wasn't until the heat from the fire began to dry out her eyes that she was forced to look away.

Immediately, the darkness of the night enveloped her eyes and she could see nothing but the blurry splots of light that had been imprinted on her pupils from the fire. Eventually, they went away, and she could see the faint outline of her cousin, Neji, as he stood guard next to a tree. His back was turned to her, and his long black hair would have been hidden by the night, if it were not for his long white robes. Hinata couldn't help but smile to herself as she observed her cousin's alert figure there in the darkness. Naruto would be on watch for at least a few more hours, but Neji never rested, or counted on others around him. He still felt the strong desire to be in control, no matter who was watching over the camp. It was his biggest weakness and one of his strongest assets, but Hinata couldn't help feeling that it would hurt him in the end.

"Neji." Hinata called.

"Yes." Neji said, his voice distracted.

"Why don't you come and relax next to me. The fish is ready, and you need your rest." Hinata offered, trying to make her voice as sweet as she could.

"Not now." Neji said. "I'm not ready yet."

"It's okay if you have a bite to eat, Naruto's on watch right now. He'll warn us if somethings out there. Besides," she said with a laugh, "having him on watch is like having a hundred people at once."

Neji didn't even flinch.

"You know Neji, you're going to have to learn to let your gaurd down sometime." Hinata said, as she reached for the fish and placed the pan to the side of the fire, before leaning back against the giant tree behind her.

Nothing but silence answered her comment and Hinata looked up at the sky. As she stared at the vast sea of stars, Hinata suddenly felt small and insignificant, as if everything she had ever done and everything she ever will do was meaningless in the grand skeem of things. Discouraged by the midnight sky, Hinata tore her eyes away from the untouchable stars, only for them to fall on the shadowy figures sitting straight across from her. Through the bright embers of the fire, Hinata could make out the collared face of her dark haired teammate, as he held the pretty brunette close to his chest. Hinata absently rubbed the silver locket hanging at her chest. Her heart aching as her mind flickered through memories of the past.

"I'm going to grab some water, do you two want anything while I'm up?" Hinata asked as she jumped to her feet.

Shino and Ayame continued to whisper to one another in the dark, Hinata's words never penetrating their secret conversation. Deciding to leave them alone, Hinata made her way to her and Naruto's tent. She grabbed the small canteen snuggled in the side pocket of Naruto's pack and made her way out into the woods, her Byakugan activated.

Hinata resisted the urge to call out to her blonde haired shinobi as she stumbled over the forest floor in the dark. The glowing figures of the animals distracting her from finding his chakra. Finally, she found the warm blue chakra she had been searching for crouched up in a tree. Softly, Hinata jumped from the ground into the cover of the branches and quietly made her way toward her love. His back was turned to her and she smiled to herself as she lifted her arms to grab him. Suddenly, Naruto disappeared and Hinata felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist, causing her to jump. She felt the man's arms squeeze tighter around her, so that she couldn't escape and a familiar laugh echoed in her ears.

"Naruto!" She scolded him. "Let me go!"

Naruto drew her in closer, kissing her lightly on her cheek before letting her go. Hinata couldn't help but smile as his small gesture caused her heart to stop and her stomach to fly.

"You know you like it." Naruto said with a wide grin, as he settled himself back onto the branch and pulled Hinata across his lap. She allowed him to stroke the long strands of her hair affectionately, as she closed her eyes and reveled in his warmth. Hinata felt her worries quickly fade away as she lay there, curled up in the comfort of his arms. Somehow, he always managed to offer her restless mind peace, just by being next to her.

"What's wrong." Naruto asked, his hand caressing the side of her cheek.

"Mmmm." Hinata hummed in response, her worries forgotten. "I just came to see if you were thirsty." She said lifting the canteen up in her hand.

Naruto smiled as he took the water from her hand and took a drink.

"Is that all?" He asked knowingly.

"Mmmhmm." Hinata answered, looking through the trees. Then they sat there in silence together, clinging to one another, the unspoken burden weighing heavily between them.

"I'm afraid for Neji." Hinata said quietly, turning her body so she could see Naruto's face in the moonlight.

"What do mean?" Naruto asked, his confusion written clearly on his face. "Neji is the best the Hyuga clan has to offer and he is one of the best ninja in Konoha. Why would you be afraid, he can handle almost any situation he encounters?"

Hinata rolled back onto her side and stared off into the distance.

"I don't know." Her voice was distant and uncertain. "It's just that he never rests, he's always on his guard, even when it's someone else's turn to shoulder the responsibility."

"He's always been that way, his history with your clan hasn't been a happy one. You know that just as well as I do Hinata. Of course he has more confidence in himself then others, that's what happens when a person has been on their own for most of their life."

Hinata turned to look up at Naruto as he said this and she saw the pain in his eyes. It had never occurred to her before that he might understand Neji even more than she had once thought, or that Naruto may be hiding things about himself not only from the world, but from her as well.

"Your different though Naruto." She said, her hand reaching for his exposed arm.

"Really Hinata? Neji and I aren't as different as we may seem." He said has he took another drink from the canteen.

"But you are different from Neji, Naruto!"

"How? We both protect the things we love and hold dear and we both would rather end a fight with the injury of one rather than the pain of our friends. We have both known pain and both have known loss, there is nothing we wouldn't do to stop everyone we care about from having to experience that pain as well."

"But-but you know when to step back, when to let your friends take over. Neji, Neji doesn't trust anyone, not even you Naruto. Even now, he is standing guard, scanning the vast forest with Byakugan for any intruder, any enemy we may encounter. He's done the same thing every night. He doesn't rest and I've never seen him eat any of the meals Ayame and I have made. His pain has made him paranoid and controlling. I'm afraid that he is running himself too thin, and it may cost him his life."

Naruto thought back to the past couple nights. He knew what Hinata said was true. Neji hadn't been resting. He was always on his guard, even when he was the one who was suppose to be resting. But he couldn't really reprimand the guy for his over protective behavior, after all they were up against a very worthy adversary and Hinata was too close to danger for any kind of comfort. Naruto knew Hinata meant a lot to Neji, even if he didn't know how to show it. His willingness to leave his clan and his village, without even being asked, was a symbol of that connection Neji felt with Hinata. She was probably the first real family he had ever known and Naruto could see the pain in Neji's white eyes every time he looked at Hinata and remembered that day during the chuunin exams. For that reason alone, Naruto knew Neji would do whatever it took to make it up to his cousin, just as he would do anything for the small girl laying comfortably in his lap. Of course, admitting his observations about Neji's sleeping and resting patterns would be like admitting the lack of his own, so Naruto did what he always did when he was placed in this type of position.

"If I talk to him, would that ease your mind?" Naruto asked Hinata as he wrapped his arms warmly around her and tangled her legs within his.

"Yes." Hinata said with a satisfied smile, nuzzling her face closer to his chest.

"Naruto?" She asked.

"Yes my love?"

"Do you still look for those two stars up in the sky?" She asked in wonder.

Naruto looked down at Hinata's soft, white skin and brushed her eyelids with the back of his hand.

"I don't have to." He said with a small smile. "I see them everyday." Carefully, he bent down and kissed her lightly on her forehead, before traveling down her cheeks and hovering over her lips with his own. Hinata's spine tingled as his warm breath spread over her cold skin. Hinata licked her lips in anticipation, as her heart beat rapidly inside her chest. She could feel the soft, warmth of his skin at first, as he showered her in tiny kisses, then, he caressed the side of her cheek with the palm of his hand, as he kissed her with more passion and intensity and her heart melted within her, sending a warm liquid flow throughout the rest of her body.

When he finally pulled away, Hinata let out a breath in yearning.

"I should be going." Hinata said with a yawn.

"Yes, you need your rest." Naruto said with a grin. "I don't want anything to happen to you because you didn't take care of yourself."

Hinata gave him a light kiss on the lips and jumped to the nearest tree branch, before stopping and turning around.

"Oh, Naruto?" She asked.

"Yes?"

"Will you be coming to bed tonight, or will you be relying on the Kyuubi to get you through another sleepless night?" Hinata stayed on the branch long enough to see the embarrassment on Naruto's face, before she continued through the trees and disappeared into the night.

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A/N: Okay, so this is the sequel to Young Hearts, thank you to anyone who has read that story and decided to read this one too. I don't know if that means my stories are any good, or they're just that bad, lol. Anyway, please read and review, and I'll try to update as soon as possible. Although, I probably won't update this story as fast as Young Hearts because I'm working on two other stories at the moment, and yes one of them is a fanfic that has been posted on here. So again, please read and review. Thank you once again.


	2. Chapter 2

"We've gathered the four squads as you commanded."

The rusty haired hokage looked up from his paperwork, his light blue eyes lined with black, narrowed at the slightly older ninja standing in front of him. Gaara laughed to himself as he thought about the way his brother's white and purple make-up made him look like an ancient statue, by the way the purple lines outlined his mouth, nose and eyes over the white base.

"Is there anything else?" Gaara's brother asked, readjusting his black hood with ears and the puppet bound to his back.

Gaara looked back out the window, the clouds from the day before had moved closer to the village.

"Before you send them out Kankuro, have Temari evacuate the villagers and lead them far away from here." He commanded, his eyes still fixated on the ominous dark clouds.

"But, Gaara..." Kankuro began in protest.

"I have given you my orders, brother, so why are you still here, time is of the essence." Gaara said, his eyes cold and unyeilding as he looked once more on the concernend face of his older brother.

"Very well, I will do what you think is necessary. When should I tell Temari to expect you?" Kankuro asked, his face emotionless and his stance indicative of a soldier ready for his orders.

"I will not be joining you. I am needed here." Gaara replied.

"I don't understand? You said you needed four of the best trackers and fighters in the village, if you are going to stay here shouldn't we..."

"No, Kankuro, that won't be possible. In fact it would defeat the very purpose of what I am trying to do if you stayed here. We have a better chance of defeating what is coming if we work together, but it is imperative you follow my orders."

Kankuro nodded his head in understanding, and waitied for his Hokage to continue.

"I want you to place the four man cells around the perimeter of the Sand Village, a team at the northern entrance, one at the Eastern entrance, one at the Southern entrance and one at the Western entrance. I need you on one of those cells."

"But..."

"If anything happens to me, if I fail, it will be up to your teams to be on alert and track whoever did it down."

Gaara looked back down at the paperwork on his desk and began writing once more, dismissing Kankuro with his silence. Kankuro stared at his younger brother, his eyes soft and pained, as he turned to leave the room.

"Oh, one more thing Kankuro." Gaara said, stopping his brother with his voice, his eyes glued to his desk. "I sent word to Konoha a few days ago. If they do not make it in time, I'm leaving you and Temari in charge."

Kankuro closed his eyes at his brother's words, his footsteps heavy as he walked out of the brightly lit office of the Hokage. The slamming door, like the lid closing on a coffin. Gaara closed his eyes and listened to his brother's footsteps fade down the hallway outside. The pen in his hand shaking violently the moment he could not here him any longer, as a silent tear rolled down his cheek, staining the paper in front of him. He was alone once again, but this time he had the support of the village and, somehow, he found that was enough. Gaara grit his teeth and pushed back his tears before standing up and walking over to the giant window in his office. He watched as the gentle breeze blew loose sand across the village floor. Gaara smiled at this small phenomena. The wind had always been a powerful ally to him, eroding the earth in order to make sand and carry it along it's path to be re-deposited in a new place. His jutsu relied heavily on the winds ability to carry sand and direct it's course. It was the first true friend he had ever had and it always supported him, but now, now it was bringing the dark clouds, and his impending doom closer with each gentle push. Gaara glared at the sky, the power of the one tail surging through him in anticipation. Suddenly, Gaara placed his hands against the cold glass and lowered his head, as he tried to fight back the overwhelming force within him. When he looked back out the window again, he wore a sadonic grin and both his eyes were yellow.

"If you want me, come and get me. I'm ready." He growled under his breath to the darkening sky. The sand in his brown container floating out in a thin line, zig zagging through the air and circling his face.

* * *

"I don't understand, if we're trying to capture Madara, how do we know where he went? I mean, how do we know which demon he hasn't captured yet?' Ayame said, her big brown eyes looking questioningly at Shino as he broke down their tent and began rolling it up tightly.

"Well," Shino grunted, stuffing the tent back inside his backpack, "we don't."

"Then how are we going to find him?" Ayame pressed, watching as Shino grabbed a branch from the forest floor and began shuffling the leaves and dirt around, erasing any physical trace of their presence.

"We choose the most likely target based off of what we know about the person we're tracking, and where the Jirruki's are, then we hope we guessed right." Neji said, moving out from behind a tree, as Ayame shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, while Shino instinctively walked over to her to warm her.

"Another late night, Neji?" A laughing voice called down from the trees.

"Where is Hinata?" Neji called up to the black and orange clad ninja, panic in his voice.

"She went to get water from the stream nearby, so we wouldn't have waste our drinking water on the last few embers of the fire." Naruto called down, his eyes fixated on her spot.

Frantically Neji activated his Byakugan and searched the forest for his cousin, his tired white eyes moving quickly from one tree to the next. When he finally caught site of her small form running back from the stream, Neji's shoulders visibly relaxed, before he began surveying the surrounding area.

"She's fine! You know she's a ninja too." Naruto called down to Neji, earning him an incredulous look from Shino.

Neji furrowed his brow in irritation before he let his anger get the best of him.

"It's a good thing I came along, if it were up to you Naruto you would have my cousin killed in no time." Neji yelled. "And if I wasn't here, you wouldn't know that Shikamaru, Choji, Ino and Sakura are all headed this way."

Neji growled, before taking off into the forest.

"What's the matter with him?" Naruto asked as he looked out over the forest from his spot up in the tree.

"That doesn't make sense." Shino said, ignoring Naruto's statement.

"What doesn't make sense?" Ayame asked, unsure of how her feelings toward the pursuing ninjas.

Shino didn't answer her question, instead, they all waited in silence for Neji to return with Hinata. When they emerged from the cover of the tree's, Hinata quickly ran over to the place their camp had been and dumped the water, mixing the dirt in as she tried to cover the evidence of the fire.

"We need to move, now!" Neji ordered, "they are almost ontop of us."

"No, we won't be able to out run them with Ayame." Shino protested. "Where would we go?"

"Besides, we don't have time." Hinata interejected. "Our best bet is to hide."

Neji flared his nostrils as he double checked Hinata's claim with his Byakugan. Clearly he could see the four figures of their friends moving through the trees approximately 100 meters away. "Then we must hide, now!"

* * *

"It looks like it's going to rain, how bothersome." Shikamaru complained. Neji, Naruto, Shino, Hinata and Ayame all huddled together as they watched the black haired, ninja look back to check on his team. The diamond earring in his ear blinding them as the sun's rays reflected off of the small stud.

"Uggh, traveling through the rain is the worst." Sakura complained, pushing the branch of a tree out of her way. Shikamaru just snickered at her complaint as Ino quickly jumped in to agree. The blond haired kunochi and Sakura then started in on how they hated fighting in the rain because it impaired their vision and slowed down reaction time.

Hinata couldn't help but peak at Naruto's face as the pink haired girl came walking by, it was the first time he had really seen her since the day she had been rescued from Madara's control and Kiba had died, but he was like a blank page. Disappointed, Hinata turned back in time to see Shikamaru walking right over to them. Her blood turned cold as he knelt down next to them and began examining the spot they were hiding.

"There sure are a lot of bugs." Choji complained, slapping one off of his enormous arm. Ayame felt Shino go tense and tried comfort him silently. "It's a good thing Shino didn't see me do that, or he would have been mad." Chouji laughed as he grabbed for a bag of chips from his pocket.

"God Choji, I thought we talked about this. If you want a girlfriend, you should try to take better care of yourself." Ino reprimanded her friend.

"But I told you, I need this for my jutsu, isn't there anyway I can have both?" He said with a hopeful smile, on his chubby cheeks.

"Yeah, Ino, leave him alone. He's fine the way he is." Sakura said smiling at Choji. Choji smiled happily back, as he stuffed a handful of chips in his mouth.

"No, it's not that." Ino said defensively. "I know he needs to eat for his jutsu, but it's what he chooses to eat. Healthy food would do just fine too." She explained as she searched through her pack.

"I packed these just for you." Ino pulled out a big bag of carrots and held them out to her tall, husky teammate.

Choji stared at the bag in disgust, as Sakura turned her head and laughed into her hand.

Hinata held her breath, hoping Shikamaru would be distracted by his teammates, but he didn't seem interested as interested in Choji's eating habits as the other two had been. Hinata watched as something caught Shikamaru's eye and he moved his hand toward her, intending to move their cover out of the way.

"Hey! Shikamaru, are you planning on spending the rest of the day here?" Choji called, his spikey brown hair moving in the wind. "I thought we weren't stopping to rest, there wasn't time remember?"

Shikamaru moved his hand back at Choji's words. His eyes full of curiosity as he stared at the spot.

"Let's move out." He finally ordered, forcing himself to step away from place that had caught his attention.

"What were you doing?" Choji asked, looking back at the spot Shikamaru had been.

"Nothing." Shikamaru said, shaking his head. The moment Shikamaru, Choji, Sakura and Ino were out of sight, Hinata let out a sigh of relief, but no one dared to move out from the cover of their hiding place. Both Neji and Hinata watching their friends departure with their byakugans. Finally, they nodded as well as they could to one another, undoing the jutsus they had used.

"I can't believe that worked." Naruto said in astonishment.

"I'm not sure it did." Shino replied.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked in confusion. "Of course it did, it hadn't Shikamaru would have discovered us and taken us back to Konoha."

"Judging from Shikamaru's behavior and what they said, I don't think we were their objective." Shino explained thinking back to the way Shikamaru studied the cluster of large, bushy plants they had all transformed into, except for Ayame.

"Ayame, did he see you underneath all of our leaves, or was part of you sticking out?"

"N-no, I don't think so." Ayame said, unsure of herself. "All I know is that I couldn't see anything between your leaves and the cluster of bugs resting on them and flying around the area. And I was too cold to move."

Shino rubbed his chin in thought. "What do you think Neji?" He asked.

"I say we follow our original plan, but, we should have someone or something follow them too."

"What about you guys?"

Hinata and Naruto both shook their heads in agreement.

"Okay, then let's move." Shino said, letting Naruto lead the way, eight bugs flying out from his sleeve and in the direction their friends had disappeared.

* * *

A/N: I'm stopping here for now, sorry that it is so short, I wanted to at least post something b/c it's been so long. Sorry if there are a lot of mistakes I'm really tired and I'm just making this up as I go, so sorry for any plot holes for now or in the future, lol. =]

"


	3. Chapter 3

The trees rustled with sound of the Shinobi's footsteps. Neji, Naruto and Shino all fought for position at the front, each one unwilling to concede leadership to the other. Hinata struggled from behind with Ayame. She giggled to herself at the sight of the three young shinobi trying to asert their dominance over the others. Neji and Naruto were the worse by far, visibly elbowing and kicking each other every few feet. Their child like demeanor overshadowed the quiet bug user next to them and although he wasn't as visibly persistent as the other two, his silent taking of the lead position did not go unnoticed by Hinata. With a quiet smile she turned and looked to her side. The young girl was struggling to keep up, but she did not seem to mind. Nothing could break her penetrating gaze while she watched Shino finally overtake the other two Shinobi.

Love was apparently the same with everyone.

Hinata returned her attention to Naruto and Neji just in time to see a dangerous flash of red in Naruto's eyes. Neji jumped back into the higher branches of the trees before Naruto's fist could reach him and Hinata rushed over to stop Naruto from following.

"You pompous jerk, I can take care of Hinata without your help!" Naruto seethed, the red flames still dancing in his eyes.

"I didn't say you couldn't." Neji replied coolly. "I just happened to notice that Hinata and Ayame have been left to fend for themselves in the back, while you are up front trying to fight for control over Shino and me."

"So." Naruto cried fighting against Hinata's small frame while she pushed him back with her palms. "Shino left his girl behind and she is far more helpless than Hinata."

Neji shook his head, his eyes betraying no hint of emotion.

"That is true, but Shino has sent his bugs out after Shikamaru's cell. Since our group consists of three Shinobi, one Kunochi and a civillian, our group would be better served if we split our formation so that two ninja lead, two ninja follow and Ayame is well protected in the middle."

"So why does it have to be you and Shino in the lead, I'm more than capable of leading too. I don't always have to take orders from you!" Naruto shouted frustrated.

"Naruto!" Hinata quietly scolded him in surprise. Naruto looked into Hinata's disappointed eyes and let his body fold lifelessly in on itself in defeat.

"It would behoove our team if Shino and I are at the front because my Byakugan is stronger than Hinata's in the sense that I can see farther and have a wider range, while Shino has sent out his bugs and is in constant contact, therefore he knows where Shikamaru and the others are headed and can direct us if we need to change our course at any time. You on the other hand Naruto, do not possess a special trait for tracking, or sensing if anyone is waiting in ambush, so it makes the most sense for you to trail behind with Hinata, who can make sure noone is following us, and if there is, it would make the most sense for you send out shadow clones since you have the biggest resevoir of chakra of all of us."

"You know his right." Hinata whispered when Neji had finished. The look Naruto flashed her sent chills up her spine, but before she could say anything he pushed her away in frustration and took his spot behind the group, taking care to make sure he wasn't within talking distance to any of them.

"What was that about?" Hinata hissed at her cousin. Neji simply cast her an indifferent look before staring off into the trees.

"I'm afraid I do not understand what you mean." He said acting oblivious to Hinata's accusing eyes.

"Yes you do." Her words were not full of any emotion. She just said them, as if they were simple fact. "You and Naruto have been at each other's throats for days now. I thought you had moved past this."

Hinata waited for her cousin to answer, but instead of acknowleding her he continued to stare off into the distance.

"Neji, why are you being so hard on Naruto? He cares about me just as much as you do. He won't let anything happen to me and neither would Shino for that matter. I know you haven't been sleeping. I can see the bags under your eyes. Maybe-maybe you should step back and let the others take over so you can get some rest."

Now Hinata had Neji's attention wholly on her. He wore an expression of disbelief and a loud snicker erupted from his lips.

"Please, me give control entirely over to those two. If Naruto truly had your protection at heart, he wouldn't have allowed Ayame to come, so that our attention wouldn't be divided even more. If it were up to Naruto, he would lead us all blindly to our doom without a second thought. As for Shino, while he possesses more common sense than Naruto and is an excellent strategist, second to Shikamaru, he also allowed Ayame to come and therefore his attention is not fully on the mission at hand either. And then there is you. As much as you have grown, you are not able to take on the leadership role because you still have not come to terms with Kiba's death."

Hinata felt overwhelmed and uncomfortable by Neji's words. Instinctively she searched for the silver heart around her neck and rubbed it soothingly with her thumb, like a child with her blanky.

"Don't think I haven't noticed Hinata. Naruto may be a blind fool, but I am not. I see the way you follow behind us and the pain in your eyes when you look at Shino and see that he's not there like he should be. And on more than once occassion I have caught you holding your locket, just as you are now, while you stare longingly at the sky. Still, I will admit that even Shino has exhibited signs of unresolved grief at the loss of his friend and teammate. No doubt his decision to allow Ayame to tag along on this dangerous mission wasn't affected in some part by Kiba's death, that is why I am the only one who is capable of leading this hopeless campaign now. I am the only one who will make sure we all survive this, even if it means we can never return to Konoha again."

Hinata couldn't bring herself to say anything. Her astonishment rendering her speechless as the wind blew through the trees, tugging at her and Neji's clothes as it passed by.

"Ahem-hem." Shino coughed in an attempt to break the awkward silence. Both Hyugas turned their pride filled attention to the Shino's bug covered form, neither of them eager for the interruption.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your little spat, but-"

"Do those clouds seem suspicious to either of you?" Without another word Neji activated his Byakugan and studied the expansive gray mass flying through the sky.

"Do those clouds seem suspicious to either of you?" Shino finished. Hinata bit her bottom lip to hold back a small laugh and waited for her cousin's report.

"Those clouds are made of chakra." Neji announced. "And they are coming from the direction of the sand village. Something's not right..."

"W-what do you mean? What's wrong?" Hinata closed her eyes and took a deep breath in an effort to calm herself.

"I think we may have found where Madara was traveling next." Neji said. "There's no time to waste, everybody move out."

*****

Gaara paced the length of the sand colored roof. The strong winds wrapped themselves around him threatening to tear off his clothes and rip out his red rusty hair. Still he remained where he was fully aware of what awaited him.

Gaara walked over to the edge of the building and searched the empty streets of his village, but there was nothing. A strong gust blew up the side of the building forcing Gaara to take a small step back as it tried to take him up. With a maniacal laugh Gaara loooked up at the sky and gazed into the dark gray abyss of the cloud of above him.

"Winds Madara!" He yelled. "Is that really the best you can do, the wind? It will take more than the wind to take Shakkaku from Gaara of the Sand Village."

A loud crack erupted from the roof of the building across the way and a black hole sizzled, almost as if in answer.

Without hesitation a string of sand emerged from the gord strapped to Gaara's back and began circling around his body protectively.

"I know you're here Madara. Show yourself."

Suddenly the sky darkened and the wind began to blow even harder than before. Without warning a flash of lightening crashed down on the roof, emmiting a ball of smoke. When the smoke had completely vaporized all that was left was a dark haired man with a pair of red Sharingin eyes.

Gaara narrowed his gaze while the sand around him instantly thickened.

"Now we will found out," he breathed at the dark haired man. "If the wind is your friend today, or mine."

* * *

A/N: Another short chapter I know, and it has been forever since I uploaded, sorry. I hope this isn't too bad, it's been so long I kind of forgot what was supposed to happen =] Anyway please review and I'll try to update sooner.


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